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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. season — of the year
  3. net — in sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. land — a country
  7. key — the most important part
  8. cue — a hint
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. face — part of the head
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — for catching
  15. face — to point toward
  16. pitch — completely
  17. key — for a lock
  18. land — ground
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. season — in sport
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. key — in music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com